Legendary Motorhead frontman Ian "Lemmy" Kilmister passed away on Monday, December 28th, just four days after his 70th birthday. Despite his recent health struggles, the heavy metal icon was stunned last Saturday, when doctors discovered terminal cancer in his brain and neck. Lemmy was given two to six months to live, but would succumb in just two days. News of his death took the music and entertainment world by storm, as hundreds of musicians, actors and other celebrities paid tribute on social media Tuesday and Wednesday. The legends bandmates expressed their sorrow to their fallen leader, and confirmed that the band will cease touring and recording. "Motorhead is over, of course," drummer Mikky Dee told the Swedish newspaper, Expressen. "Lemmy was Motorhead. But the band will live on in the memories of many."

A Facebook post on the Motorhead page read: "We cannot begin to express our shock and sadness, there aren't words. We will say more in the coming days, but for now, please... play Motörhead loud, play Hawkwind loud, play Lemmy's music LOUD. Have a drink or a few." Kilmister's previous band, Hawkwind, chimed in as well, posting: "Lemmy was a gentleman & a friend. I'll miss our eccentric text conversations. We had that magic when we played together. His legend lives on."

The "Ace of Spades" creator's fellow New Wave of British Heavy Metal pioneers honored their fallen brother also. Saxon frontman Biff Byford noted: "I knew Lemmy for 36 years. If you were his friend, you were his friend for life." Byford called his longtime friend an "iconic songwriter and lyricist and rock and roll rebel." The singer expressed his condolences to Kilmister's family and the rest of his friends, finishing his statement with: "Sad, sad day... Wherever you are, mate, give 'em hell." Black Sabbath frontman Ozzy Osbourne paid tribute on Facebook with a post that read: "Lost one of my best friends, Lemmy, today. He will be sadly missed. He was a warrior and a legend. I will see you on the other side." In an interview with BBC Midlands, fellow Sabbath founder and guitar legend Tony Iommi called Lemmy "the epitome of rock and roll."

While the legends of British music marked the Motorhead founder's passing, they weren't alone. Megastars from the American rock scene remembered as well. KISS legend Gene Simmons tweeted simply: "Lemmy: Rest In Peace, my friend," while legendary shock rocker Alice Cooper posted: "#RIPLemmy - he was 1 of a kind. He was innovative, true to his art & an Icon. Condolences to his family, band & fans." Twisted Sister's Dee Snider, Girlschool, Slipknot and Stone Grace frontman Corey Taylor and dozens of others remembered Lemmy Kilmister on Tuesday and Wednesday, including Metallica's Lars Ulrich, who has always credited Motorhead for his band's existence. The influential drummer talks about meeting and hanging out with his idol when he was sixteen, before he made the decision to form a band with James Hetfield. "So when I say that Lemmy is the primary reason that I'm in a band to this day, and that Metallica exists because of him, it's not some cheap exaggeration. It really was." To read all of Ulrich's memories, as told to Rolling Stone, Click Here."